Girls Basketball: Mount St. Joseph eases past Boyertown

SPRINGFIELD — Before the game, Mount St. Joseph coach John Miller told his players that the best game they won was the AACA Championship game against Villa Maria a few weeks back. Well, that changed with the Magic’s 62-24 win over Boyertown in the District One Class AAAA quarterfinals.

“We did not expect the score of this game to be what it was, I don’t think anyone in their right mind could have predicted that,” Mount coach John Miller said. “This was the best game we have played this season.”

When Mount needed it most, its stars rose to the occasion as Alex Louin, Adrienne Cellucci, Carly Monzo and Meg Geatens all ended the game in double figures. With great defense throughout and discipline with their passes, the Magic shook off a sub-par performance in the last round to make a huge statement in the quarterfinals.

One of the most important parts of the game plan heading into this game was to stop Boyertown’s Kaitlyn Eisenhard. The Lady Bears’ center had been a force this season, and cutting her off would be a big job for the Magic. For the most part the plan worked, as Eisenhard only managed six points in the game.

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“The best part of this game was executing what we wanted to do and that was shutting down their big,” Geatens said. “She’s a really good player and to hold her to six points was great. We definitely carried out our plan, that’s exactly what we wanted to do.”

With Eisenhard locked down for most of the game, the Magic stayed disciplined on both sides of the ball. Mount worked the ball around until the absolute best shot became available and they did not miss many times. They had a good combination of outside shooting and points in the paint to stay unpredictable, while leading the rebounding column despite being at an overall height disadvantage. The defense held the Lady Bears to single digits in each of the four quarters, including a three-point third period.

“The defense was the key to the game,” Geatens said. “We wanted to make sure they didn’t get rebounds or second chances in the paint. We just worked hard and did what we had to do.”

Once the Mount lead was 20 in the third quarter, the game was effectively over. Louin led the way with 17 points, with Cellucci right behind her adding 16. Geatens and Monzo had 10 each, making four of five starters reach double digits.

“We were moving the ball and the girls were shooting in rhythm,” Miller said. “When they were getting a shot, it was a shot they are used to getting at that spot. When a player shoots the ball in rhythm, their percentage goes up. They feel comfortable because those are the shots they are supposed to get in this offense.”

It’s not very often that you see a score line like this in a quarterfinal, but the Magic clearly wanted to send a message to the other teams that reached the Class AAAA final four. With an incredible first half, the Magic propelled itself into semis and did it with relative ease. They seem poised to win the district title once again.

“I’m not going to say we were surprised that we got this far, but we questioned it at one point. Obviously we were able to get here and we are playing well. Now we are in the final four and we talk about one goal and going one step at a time. I’m so proud of how the girls played today.”